The Covid 19 economic shutdown destroyed my businesses. That said, I still never thought I would say “thank you” to the Federal Government. But were it not for the Federal Government’s stimulus check, extended unemployment benefits and the additional $600/week unemployment benefits I could not have survived. And while I know our debt bomb has grown at least $3,000,000,000,000,000, Trump had no choice. The economy simply had to have an infusion of cash.
Now let me say “piss on Illinois”. This State has to be among the worst States by every measure. First they were pathetically slow at getting the Federal Government’s unemployment money out to citizens in dire need. All this State had to do was pass out the cash… and they couldn’t even do that on a timely basis. But I think what pisses me off the most is that checks were 48 hours late any time there was a holiday.
Let me explain. Memorial Day was Monday the 26th of May and was a holiday for most everyone in State Government. For me, life and bills go on with or without me regardless of holidays. That means I still have to pay the mortgage and groceries and on and on she goes. In order to do that money has to arrive in my bank account on certain dates or I miss bills. Not unusual…. just like everyone else in this Country for the most part.
Well Wednesday the 28th comes along which is my day for my Federal money and much to my surprise NOTHING. Oh shit something has happened I thought. Now what? I suppose Illinois has some issue preventing them from getting the checks out.
Guess what? Illinois did have an issue. Turns out because Monday the 26th was a holiday, and the poor pitiful way overpaid government workers were off, they didn’t send checks out for 48 hours. I mean it’s only reasonable to think that since workers had Monday off, that the checks would be delayed. We peons in the masses should be happy we are even getting checks is seemingly the mantra.
Well I am here to tell you government dweebs, there’s absolutely no excuse for my check to go out 48 hours late. I bet your fuckin check didn’t go out 48 hours late. Why would you think it’s okay for mine to be late. If you have to work 24 hours a day until you are caught up because you took one holiday out of your egregious 15 holidays, that’s the price you pay to be MY employee. You need to learn who is really paying your bills and it’s not the State of Illinois.
I am thoroughly pissed off and wonder how I am going to survive my time alone in the house under “shelter in place” rules in Illinois. Let me share some thoughts.
To be personal, I am a Sagittarius and as such we tend to think “big picture”. I have often pondered if there would come a day in my lifetime when a germ of some sort would spring to life and invade the world. It always seemed logical to me that at some point something… maybe a virus, but something would come along and wreak havoc on the world’s human population. And if not a virus maybe a bacteria; we hear all the time that certain bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. After all, there have always been events throughout time that have ravaged the creatures that inhabited the Earth.
That time has come, much to my dismay and the dismay of billions around the globe. A Chinese virus code named COVID19 is among us and it is causing catastrophic problems in the world today. You cannot see it, smell it or hear it, but make no mistake it is here. China caused the outbreak, but the rest of the world is suffering from their ineptness. Deaths in Europe have surpassed those in China where this virus could have been contained.
That being said, let me say despite the potential for colossal numbers of deaths in the United States, we seem to be handling things pretty well as I write this blog on this day 20th day in March 2020. But the United States is handling it by shutting down. The engine of the economy is running out of gas as people are told to go home from work to hide out at home. Metaphorically, the lights are slowly dimming as the days pass and the infections steadily increase. In my imagination I picture a large automotive plant off in the distance and eerily the lights in the plant are orange like a sunset creating a sense of pending doom as I gaze upon it.
In my minds eye is the U.S. economy
Doom is just one emotion. Many other words are being felt as everyone in the world is now aware of COVID19. And we are all experiencing some degree of hardship. I have been sequestered at home now since the beginning of March, not because I fear the virus, but because the “lights are dimming”. Stores are empty, restaurants are empty, and overall businesses are at half mast. We are literally shutting down as a Country. Only essential personnel are supposed to be out and about.
No doubt as you have been reading you have been asking why? Why am I so pissed for lack of a less coarse term? I am pissed because this could all have been avoided. My sequestration could have been avoided, my lack of funds to pay my bills due to shutdowns could have been avoided and most importantly the deaths of thousands could have been avoided. It pains me terribly to hear about an American family of 12 or so, losing 4 to the virus and of the remaining 8 are infected. The agony this family is experiencing cannot be put into words. And I repeat it again, this could all have been avoided.
China knew in very early December maybe even November they had a serious virus in their midst. But as with all totalitarian governments, they chose to keep it secreted within their Country in this case the Wuhan province. Anyone talking publicly about the virus would be immediately silenced. What that means I don’t know except that person disappears… death by another means.
When the Chinese virus arrived on our shores, it didn’t immediately cause chaos. Trump responded in accordance with what was happening on the ground largely on the west coast. His initial effort was to stop travel from China to the United States in January. But within just a few weeks, the virus started spreading across the U.S. and spreading fast. And Trump was just assembling a team to combat the virus. Trump was crucified in the media both right and left leaning media for not acting quicker. Personally I felt this torture was unjust. We are in uncharted waters. We don’t have a blueprint. He did what he thought was best. He didn’t for malicious reasons start slower than maybe he should have in building a defense against this virus. He did what he thought best and frankly part of his reasoning was to prevent widespread panic I’m sure.
As I sit here today, Trump seems to be getting things under control despite the infections continuing to rise. We have a population of 329 million people and today (update) 24,000 are known to be infected. That is 0.0729% of our population to give us perspective. So things are not out of control on Trump’s watch. That said, he has even gotten accolades from New York’s and California’s governors which is unprecedented. There suddenly seems to finally be a sense of cooperation between the Democrats and the Republicans.
It’s refreshing to see this change and yet 3 months ago impeachment trials were underway. Democrats were aggressively and egregiously pursing Trump for things of no consequence or true significance in the totality of government workings. My assessment is that Trump did nothing out of the ordinary. In any event, don’tA possible distraction for Trump wouldn’t you say and a blight on the house of Nancy Pelosi. How dare her.
I have rambled more than usual, but my thoughts are still collecting on this viral situation. I am pissed at the Chinese mostly. And their mishandling of COVID19 is causing me serious angst as I sit here with little to do; and further, it may cause a meltdown of my finances as my income has not arrived in the mail as usual. Of course my pain is insignificant compared to those that have lost a dearly loved one, but my point is that every American is being impacted in some way. Some more than others, but we all are suffering. And the tunnel we’ve entered has no light.
While the article below is a little dated, it still gives good perspective on this issue. Given the article was written in 2016, I have updated my information through 2019. The Tribune article takes you back to 2010 and brings you forward as to the exodus, tax implications, pension debacle, demographics of who’s moving, and of all the things the impact of red light cameras. So I recommend reading the entire article.
Read the following article it takes you back to 2010 and looks at the net loss. It actually was greater loss pre-2014.
This part of article is inconsistent with Census graph above. And has a glaring typographical error. If you’ll notice in the highlighted area it references 2015 twice when it should have referenced 2014 then 2015. Either way, the only way I can explain the 100,000 exodus in 2015 with the graph above showing 25,000 is that one is “gross” exodus and the other is “net” exodus. In other words when you subtract the new babies and new residents from the number of people that are leaving it nets out to only 25,000 total loss in population even though 100,000 people left the State. That would mean 75,000 new residents and babies arrived in Illinois to offset the 100,000 that left.The loss of people over the last 20 years amounts to $50 billion in lost taxable income per year or about $8 billion a year in lost taxes. Enough money to balance the budget sadly enough.
I cannot improve on this article so I will just punt and allow you to uncover for yourself the corruption the Unions have foisted on Illinois with the help of Jim Madigan.
Average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Presidents Since Truman (Updated 3/30/2020). I guess I was prescient back in 2008 as to Obama’s fitness to lead. Worst President since Truman in terms of growing our economy. And don’t forget he spent $10 trillion dollars more than our tax receipts over that period to average less than 1.5% growth. Pathetic especially when the average was 2.9% over the period shown. _______________________________________________________
I have been on this earth almost 50 years. I have lived through the Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II presidencies and for the first time in all those years I have no respect for our process of electing our leaders. In nearly 50 years of my life, I don’t believe there has been a less impressive presidential candidate or president than Obama. He has accomplished very little compared to my past Presidents or presidential candidates, and he has not accomplished significantly more than myself when all things are considered.
“How in the world did we get to this point?” To attempt to understand, I asked a close Liberal friend, who I respect highly, why anyone would seriously consider Obama. She said: “Let’s give some new blood a chance”. Regrettably I think far far too many people are thinking like my friend. That scares me as Obama is not an impressive character except to say… he seems to be growing into the portrait the media has painted for him. So again I ask: “What are we thinking!” Just as a GED is not equivalent in “real terms” to a high school graduation… community organizing, a few years in the Senate and a law degree does not prepare one to be the President. There is no substitute for certain life experiences and the wisdom of age. Obama simply does not have what it takes TODAY… to be President. I really wished he had waited another 4 years… he just is too weak.
Chuck Tyson's Texas Tea 